Midnight Kiss
by moonswirl
Summary: Gleekathon, day three hundred and fifty-nine:  PREQUEL TO #71  They won't remember how they came to the idea, but it did happen...


_Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 17th cycle. Now cycle 18!_

**YEAR ONE ANNIVERSARY CYCLE!** - Within days it will have been one year since I've started this Gleekathon, and I had a thought that I should do something special for it. So this is what I did: Selecting from the start of it all to the end of august (well, I had to plan! ;)), I picked my 21 favorite one shots. A number of those I was very attached to, but left sad to see may have fallen through the cracks, so it seems fair they should be recognized.

The 21 stories were split in three categories: **POV swap - Prequel - Sequel**... I think that goes without saying ;) In no particular order... **Today's story** is a Prequel to #71 "Five, Four, Three, Two, One" a Multiship story originally posted December 31st 2009.

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**"Midnight Kiss"  
Mike/Brittany **

They had been told of the job through Mrs Chang, who had heard it from another mother. Mrs Jamison's younger child had a dance class which now found itself without a teacher, just a couple of weeks before their recital, with no substitute available. Knowing how she had an older son who danced, Mrs Jamison had asked Mike's mother if he'd be able to assist. He had agreed, mostly as he'd had the brilliant idea to recruit a co-substitute. Brittany had said yes.

Showing up at the studio the first day, he'd found the class in semi-full swing already, as Brittany led the kids already there in a warm-up dash around the room. The kids, aged five to seven, had already taken to her, which didn't surprise him in the least; she shared in innocence. He smiled, waved back when her waving at him caused the kids to do the same.

"Come on!" Millie Jamison ordered him from atop her six years of age. Mike conceded and joined them. Soon the last of the kids had arrived and had their pass at the jog, so they were ready to start. From what they had been told, there was no routine set in stone yet and they had 'carte blanche,' which Mike had to assure Brittany was not meaning they had to do a dance about the Golden Girls.

They had decided to dedicate day one to simply getting to know the kids and what they could and liked to do. Some were shy, some were opinionated… One had been nicknamed 'Rachel 2.' As the last of the kids had left, Mike turned to find Brittany had taken up another run around the studio. He went to sit in the middle and waited. Eventually, Brittany came over and sat across from him, briefly winded. "Ah, there you are," he joked. She smirked. "So what do you think? About the kids, and the dance."

"They're pretty good," she nodded with a shrug. "'Rachel 2' is scary," her face shifted into a quiet fright.

"Yeah, she would be," Mike played, nodding along. "Don't worry, I've got your back," he moved his foot to bump her sneaker with his own, which made her smile, forget the rest. "Got any idea what we should do for their routine?"

"Well… maybe…" she trailed off as she got back up and started moving to get going, but then she stopped and looked back to him. "What's the song?" she asked. He got up as well, moving to get the radio.

"They gave me a CD, said if this doesn't work, well… we should try to make it work. I haven't listened yet." He played the song for them both, and with a smile they agreed… it would do just fine. "Let's get started then," he indicated the center of the room.

By the time they met up with the kids for the second time, it was just a couple of days to New Year's, and they had been cordially invited to another event… the Glee Club's New Year's Eve party. Brittany arrived to now find Mike playing the role of warm-up run leader, trailed by half a dozen kids.

"Come on!" Millie Jamison… Rachel 2… once more requested. Brittany flinched, then did as told. Eventually, the group sat on the ground, looking up to their teachers.

They started showing them the routine, and it took a moment before they started to hear hints of hushed laughter. Mike looked down and saw the girls in the back, laughing and smiling. It took him a moment to understand why… He was holding Brittany's hand in this part, which apparently was funny and made the girls happy. He gave them a face and the laughter escaped some more, drawing Brittany's attention now.

"What's wrong?" she asked. Mike cleared his throat, back on task.

"Nothing, never mind, the girls and I were having a discussion," he nodded again; they giggled.

"I didn't hear anything," Brittany looked around.

"Okay, guys, on your feet," Mike coughed and got them back on track once again. They got to showing the routine and practiced for a while before taking a break. While the kids paused, snacked, Mike and Brittany sat on the ground, backs to the wall.

"Are you going to the Glee Year's Eve party?" she asked, looked over at him.

"Sure," she nodded. "You?" he asked, and she nodded back. It was a few more seconds of unawareness before they saw they'd been staring at one another… still were. They were inching ever closer.

Again the giggle gallery interrupted them, and they looked back ahead. "At midnight…" she started, looking to him again.

"Yeah?" he asked, finding he was very interested to know.

"What?" she asked, having forgotten what she meant to say. He smirked, picking up where she'd dropped off… or where he figured – maybe hoped – she was going.

"Well, it's going to be New Year's Eve… Midnight… What usually happens?" He watched her think it out, her face shifting along to her thoughts. He followed it like a tennis ball whizzing by.

"Champagne?" she finally turned to him, grinning. He chuckled, which she took as a wrong answer, so she tried again. "Countdown?"

"And after the countdown?" he led on. Brittany thought. "When New Year comes?" She thought some more… then smiled.

"Oh, yeah," she nodded. "What if we do that? Oh!" she startled with an idea. "I know, we should get everyone doing it, too," she nodded.

"That could work," he nodded back, then looked to her again. "Midnight buddy?" he held out his hand, and she shook it. "Come on, better get back to it," he got up, pulling her along. "Let's bring it back in!" he called to the kids. Brittany tapped his shoulder.

"Hey, want to practice after this?" Mike looked to her, dazed, then…

"Right, guys, let's hurry this up!"

THE END

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**_[A/N: This is a one-shot ficlet, story alert won't get you anything! ;)]_**


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